Fairy Lights
by GiveMeLovee
Summary: A small oneshot about Elizabeth and Fred during the Christmas holidays. R&R   UPDATE  Follow Elizabeth through her 6th year as she becomes closer to a certain redhead. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer; I unfortunately don't Harry Potter, nor am I making any profit from this. If i were, Fred would have never died ^^**

**Enjoy!  
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><p>Not many people stayed at Hogwarts during the winter holidays this year. It was quite understandable; there was neither the Triwizard tournament, nor Yule Ball this year. But I couldn't help but feel lonely. This year, Stefanie's parents insisted that she join them for Christmas- without me. I always knew that her parents disliked me. It must have been the fact that Stefanie was never sorted into Slytherin like her parents were and they automatically hated all her Gryffindor friends. But it was still a pretty harsh slap in the face. She could tell that I was upset, but she promised me that she would hate it the whole time. So yesterday I accompanied my best friend to Hogsmeade and watched her leave. I had trudged through the snow miserably back to the castle and remained in the nearly empty common room for the rest of the day.<p>

This morning, I woke up to an eerily quiet dorm. It reminded me of how boring my holidays were most likely going to be. As I got dressed in black jeans and a grey cardigan, I couldn't help but regret not going home for Christmas. Down in the common room, I passed Harry and Ron, my fellow Quidditch team mates who were playing a game of chess in pajamas and jumpers, and Fred and George, who were seated at a table surrounded with papers. As I passed their table, Fred looked up at me and flashed me a smile.

"Hey Beth" He said, knocking over a jar of ink with his elbow.

"Hey Fred, George," I said with a grin.

George waved at me and then rolled his eyes at Fred who siphoned the ink away with his wand while a light and rare blush covered his cheeks.

I made my way through the empty halls and down to the Great Hall where I sat alone and picked through a bowl of porridge and cup of coffee over today's issue of the Daily Prophet. I couldn't bear to look at the empty house tables. It would simply make my holidays even more miserable.  
>After my late breakfast, I took the longest route I knew back to the common room simply for something to do. When I reached the common room 20 minutes later, I decided to begin the homework that had been given earlier in the week and was due at the end of the holidays. So I picked a table away from the dully colored windows and I spread my textbooks across the entire table, preparing myself mentally for the day. I pulled forward a new roll of parchment and I was struggling with an old jar of black ink when a flash of red to my right caught my attention.<p>

"Hey Fred," I said, still unsuccessfully trying to open the small pot.

"Need help with that?" He asked, holding a hand out.

I gave it one last try and handed over to Fred who popped it open as though it was nothing. He handed it back to me and proceeded to say something. I tried to listen, I really did, but I couldn't help but notice small things, like the way his hair stood up in the front like he had been running his calloused hands through it all morning or how his eyes crinkled when he grinned, or how his smile pulled further to the left when he laughed.

"… so what do you think?" He asked.

Crap.

"I'm afraid I didn't catch that last part," I said, pulling my eyes away from his lips that curved into a grin.

"My face is distracting, isn't it?" He joked.

"Nah," Oh Fred Weasley, you have no idea.

"So as I was saying, George, Lee, some girls and I are going to sneak out on Christmas Eve to go to that new Pub in Hogsmeade. Are you interested?"

"Tomorrow night? Yeah, sure." I replied with a nod.

"Great,"

For a moment, we sat there, staring at each other until Lee, Katie and George, who were huddled in the back howled with laughter.

"So, what's going on with you?" He asked, pushing a few of my textbooks further on the table and leaning his head into his hand.

"What do you mean?" I asked, shifting in my chair so that I was sitting in it sideways, facing him.

"Well, you never do your homework," He said, nodding his head at the books scattered across the table. "You're worse than George and I. So why are you doing it now?"

"I don't know. I haven't got anything better to do," I admitted, copying his posture, with my left elbow on the table and my head resting in my hand.

"Stefanie left, didn't she?" He asked. I nodded.

"Her parents don't like me, so they said no to her when she asked to invite me along. And this was all last minute, so I owled my mother to ask if it was too late to change my mind to leave school for the holidays, but she said that they already made the reservations to all the places they're going to and they can't change them. My family is going to Venice for the holidays," I explained.

"Well that's no fun," He said with a frown.

I pursed my lips at the carpet on the floor and nodded sourly.

"I'll keep you company if you'd like," He offered with a nudge to my bare foot and a suggestive grin.

I laughed and accepted his company. It certainly made me feel better. Plus, it meant that I could stare at his oh-so distracting face more. Not that I minded!

I thought about what Stefanie had told me the other night, about it being obvious that Fred liked me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to really believe it or not, simply because I didn't want to get my hopes up for no reason at all. Not that I liked Fred or anything, I thought with a sly grin.

Fred stayed true to his word and kept me company for the rest of the day, helping me with homework and occasionally throwing in a few funny comments. George joined us in the late afternoon and along with Lee and Katie, we made our way down to the Great Hall for dinner.

It was refreshing to be with new people every once and a while. I couldn't help but notice that the way Fred and George act together was very similar to Stefanie and I when we were together. There were fewer than 25 people scattered across the Hall and so it wasn't as loud as it normally was with the couple hundred students that inhabited the castle and so Fred, George and Lee took it upon them to make all that noise among the 3 of them. I contributed to my own little bit when Fred charmed my broccoli to life. I shrieked loudly when it hopped up on my shoulder and pushed away from the table so fast that I ended up on the floor. I wasn't so impressed afterwards, but even then, I had to admit that it was amusing. But at that moment, Professor Umbridge left the staff table to come and deduct 15 points from Gryffindor for disrupting the Hall. I bit the inside of my cheek sourly and glared at her retreating figure while Fred, George and Lee made rude gestures to her back. Katie helped me remove the bits of broccoli from my hair and after dessert, the 5 of us returned to the common room to claim the sofa in front of the crackling fire place. Katie, Lee, George and I reached the sofa first and scurried onto the cushions, leaving no room for Fred. He rolled his eyes but settled on the floor near my feet much to my pleasure.

"Elizabeth, there's a party tomorrow night," Katie said, leaning over Lee, "Do you want to come?"

"Oh, you mean the Christmas Eve party? Fred already invited me and I said I'd go, if you don't mind, of course" I added at the end.

George and Lee grinned, their eyes flashing to Fred who pretended not to notice.

"Of course not," George said, nudging Fred with his sock clad toe.

"What's so funny?" I asked, looking back and forth from Katie, Lee and George to Fred.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Katie reassured me with a knowing grin of her own as Fred swiped at George's foot.

We stayed up late, talking and joking loudly until the topic of Fred and George's joke shop came up.

"We've invented loads," George said excitedly, shifting so that his back was rested against the arm of the sofa, his legs sprawled over Katie and Lee and his feet resting on my lap. My own feet were propped up on the coffee table and Fred was facing sitting cross-legged so that his shoulder was against my leg inside leg.

"Where do you keep the lot?" Katie asked.

"There's a large trunk in the corner of our room that has an undetectable expansion charm on it," Lee said followed by a yawn.

"Have you got enough products to actually open up a joke shop? And what about a premises, do you have one?" I asked.

"Ahh, that's a secret, my dear" Fred said, grinning up at me.

"Oh, fine. I see how it is," I said as I turned away from him jokingly.

Over the next half hour, I listened as Fred, George and Lee answered all of Katie's questions. And at half past midnight, Lee gave a tremendous yawn and declared that he was retreating to bed. Katie lasted another 15 minutes before saying goodnight, and George left not long after, but not before nudging Fred one last time.

When George disappeared up the spiral staircase, Fred rose from the carpet with a grunt and stretched his arms above his head. I couldn't help but notice the line of hair that trailed from this belly button, down his abdomen and disappeared beneath the elastic of his boxers. I grinned and turned away.  
>He settled down on the couch next to me, kicked off his shoes and threw them on the table next to mine and gave my feet a nudge.<p>

"Not tired yet?" He asked.

"Well, I suppose I am. After all, I have spent the entire day with you," I teased.

"Oi, I resent that!" He retorted with a poke to my side.

After a moment, I turned to him and with a sigh I asked him if he was serious about what he said earlier.

"What? About putting dungbombs in Filch's office?"

"No, about what you said about you and George leaving,"

"Oh,"

He was silent for a moment, staring into the embers of the drying fire.

"I don't know," He said finally, "Why?"

"I don't think it would be the same without you guys," I replied. He seemed pleased with my answer.

If Professor Umbridge weren't here, would you guys stay?" I asked, pulling a ginger cat hair off my jeans.

"I think so. Foul woman, isn't she?" he joked lightly.

"The worst of them all," I agreed.

"How much will you miss me?" He asked with a grin.

"I'd probably miss George more, but either way, it'll be nice without you two hooligans around," I teased.

"I'm hurt," He gasped, putting his right hand over his heart.

"I'm only joking,"

"Of course you are," he agreed, "Everyone knows I'm the better looking twin,"

I rolled my eyes and smiled at his cheeky grin.

"I'm tired," I stated.

"Well then, go to sleep," He laughed.

"Oh," I said slowly, "I see how it is,"

I began to stand up but Fred moved with speed, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me back onto the couch.

"Violent, aren't we?" I grinned.

The clock on the mantle announced that it was one in the morning and Christmas was only 23 hours away. I grinned, giddy with excitement. If the rest of the holidays continued as such, with the twins, Katie and Lee around, then it wouldn't be so bad in the end, would it?

"Give me a head massage," He ordered suddenly. I snorted.

"And why would I do that?" I said, glancing up at his disheveled ginger hair.

"George said you give wonderful head massages. I simply have to see for myself,"

"Ah, well in that case, you'd better take your pants off," I replied slyly.

He sat confused for a moment before he caught on and gasped in horror.

"You didn't!"

"No, you're right, I didn't, but I had you going there for a moment, didn't I?" I said, nudging his side playfully.

"You nearly have me a heart attack," He said, slumping into the couch a few inches closer to me.

"I suppose I could give you a head massage," I said slowly, "But only if you return the favor,"

He wasted no time spreading out along the couch, ankles crossed, fingers linked, head on my lap, staring up at me with batting eyelashes.

"Don't do that, you look awful," I teased.

I raised my right hand and combed through his hair lightly, marveling at how soft it was. I played with his hair, pushing it back off his forehead so that it stood on its ends. He sighed happily and closed his eyes. I slowly worked my fingers through his locks, massaging his scalp gently.

"Lovely, isn't it?" I said softly,

He mumbled something that sounded like 'magical fingers', causing me to snigger.

After a few minutes, his breathing closed considerably and I peered down at him. He had fallen asleep.

So much for my head massage, I thought dully.

I stared down at his face where all traces of emotion were gone. With a glance to the mantle above the fire place, the clock told me that it was nearing half past 1. I yawned widely and shifted carefully to not wake Fred so that I was in a more comfortable position. Then I resumed stroking his hair, but more for the purpose of me wanting to feel his hair than to actually continue the massage.

The last of the embers slowly died and I found myself becoming more and more tired as the minutes ticked by. The last thing I remembered before I fell asleep was Fred reaching up in his sleep and taking my hand in his, fingers linked.

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><p><em><strong>AN- So, random one shot. Whadaya think? Should I continue? I don't quite know where I would go with this, but it certainly would be interesting, seeing as I have never really written a story with either Fred and/or George as one of the main characters. hmm, accept challenge? You tell me ^^**_

_**Reviews are lovely. Kind of like a little slice of cyber chocolate cake that sadly, I will never enjoy, but its there nonetheless ! **_

_**~Mishy (dont ask^^)  
><strong>_


	2. Chapter 2 The Beginning

The Beginning

The moment I passed through the barrier on Platform ¾ I couldn't conceal my grin. I glanced up at the gleaming scarlet locomotive and smiled brightly. We were just on time, as the train whistled loudly, announcing that the train would depart in less than 10 minutes.

"Come on," Stefanie said, nudging me with her jean-clad hip as my brother, Oliver, took off the other way to meet with his friends.

I followed behind my best friend as we maneuvered through the tough crowd with our belongings towards the end of the train where we dumped our trunks off.

"We had better hurry," I said, noticing that not too many students were left on the platform among the throng of parents, "wouldn't want to miss the train, would we?"

Together, as always, we boarded the train just as it whistled one last time. The door closed itself behind me and locked with a click so that Stefanie and I were standing in the middle of the crowded corridor.

"We'll never find a compartment at this rate!" She exclaimed as the train lurched forward. At the last moment, she pushed a younger Hufflepuff student out of the way and shoved her head out of the window, waving one last time to her mother who looked utterly bored.

"Wow mother, contain your emotions, will you?" She joked and I laughed loudly.

Stefanie's father never came to see her off. Only her mother. And once again, her mother had been rather snooty to me on the platform. Before Hogwarts, Stefanie had been raised in a strict environment, and taught to believe that she was superior to others. It didn't do her too well in our first year, when she had been rude to many of our classmates and had later been sorted into Gryffindor and not Slytherin. But she had come a long way from there and was now my best friend. Despite her Gryffindor bravery (pronounced stupidity), she held several of the Slytherin traits. She was tall, with long legs and long, willowy blonde hair. She moved about gracefully, and with an air of kindness and humor, but those who knew her well knew that she could turn into a nasty bitch in seconds of provoked. Luckily, this was not seen often.

We ploughed through the crowd and slowly made our way toward the back of the train that the older students often occupied.

"Whose presence shall we grace this year?" she said airily.

"You're so full of yourself!" I exclaimed, pulling her out of the way of a couple of students that barreled down the narrow corridor.

She brushed this comment off with a laugh and pulled me to the very last cart that was mostly occupied with Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.

"I don't fancy sitting with a bunch of Hufflepuffs," I said as I turned away from a particularly quiet but full compartment.

"They don't quite know how to have fun, do they, Elizabeth?"

"Well I'm certainly not showing them," I scoffed

"We couldn't help but eavesdrop," a voice behind us said.

"And it seems that you lovely ladies are in need of a compartment," an identical voice continued.

"Ah, well if it isn't my favorite Ginger twins," I said, spinning around with a wide grin.

"You only know one pair," Stefanie said with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh shush, you," I said, sticking my tongue out. I turned to the twins and accepted their offer. Stefanie and I followed them into the very last compartment.

"Hello ladies," Lee, the twin's friend, greeted and pushed some bags off the cushioned benches to make room for 2 more.

"Katie, Angelina, this here is Stefanie and Elizabeth,"

"Shut up George, I've been sharing a dorm with the pair of them for 6 years now," Katie laughed.

"Calm it woman!" George joked and ducked to avoid the Weekly Witch's latest magazine.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Stefanie and I had only hung out with the twins a few times over the years, but they proved to be funnier each time. The twins and Lee seemed pleased with themselves every time Stefanie, Katie, Angelina and I laughed, and they seemed to make it their goal to make us laugh as much as possible so that by the time the sun started to set, I was sore to my stomach. When the lanterns in each compartment lit, the food Trolley passed again and together, Stefanie and I bought more chocolate and candies than we could actually eat and we ended up throwing it all on the pull-out table and sharing with everyone. With about an hour and a half left before we pulled in to Hogsmeade, the twins decided to pay a little visit to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Want to come?" He asked, hanging on the door.

"Sure. Stef?"

"If I leave, there won't be any chocolate frogs left," she laughed.

I left the comfort of the seat and followed the twins out into the now empty corridors.

"Harry asked us for a set of extendable ears earlier," Fred said

"What are extendable ears?"

"It's something George and I invented this summer. They're like fleshy little strings that you place one end in your ear and it allows you to hear what's on the other end. Here, look," he said, dumping a pair in my hand, "they're great for eavesdropping," I wrinkled my nose at the feeling of them, but overall I was impressed.

"Your and George have a knack for inventing things, don't you?" I grinned, placing the stringy object back into his hand.

"They never really work the first time," he admitted sheepishly, "loads of complex spells,"

"Do you work with potions at all?" I asked curiously.

"We try, but often, we have to modify the ingredients, whether it's adding in new ones- which mind you, is very dangerous- or changing the quantity of ingredient that we're adding. But it requires loads of maths, and unfortunately, George and I aren't taking Arithmancy. We usually get there eventually but it takes way more time than actually needed,"

"Well I'm not too shabby in Potions and Arithmancy. If you guys ever need he'll with modifying the formulas, I can help you out," I offered.

"I'll remember that," George said over his shoulder as he turned into a full compartment.

Coming up just behind the twins was a small group of only 4, and one stood in the doorway with an arrogant smirk on his handsome face. It seemed as Draco Malfoy too wanted to visit Harry.

0o0o0o0o0

"-and you are a git, so get out,"

Malfoy fumed, but exited the compartment. He paused in front of me and took a long look at me. Beside me, I could see Fred tense up. Draco Malfoy never passed up a chance to mock the Weasleys for having less money. But what he said shocked me.

"Elizabeth, you look lovely, as always,"

And without waiting for a response, he simply walked away.

"What a creeper," Fred snorted, tugging me into the compartment.

We stayed for about 15 minutes until Stefanie entered the compartment in her black school robes and suggested we do the same. So I bid goodbye to the 5th years and followed my best friend and the twins back to their compartment.

When the great scarlet locomotive pulled into the station in Hogsmeade, we followed the crowd onto the platform and made our way toward the road that lead up to the castle.

"It's your last year for the three of you, isn't it?" Stefanie asked Lee.

"Yeah. You guys have another year after this one if I'm not mistaken,"

"Ickle little children," George teased.

We waited in the chilly, damp, dark night for the carriages that would take us back up to the castle. Next to me, Stefanie laughed at something the twins did. It came upon me so suddenly, but nothing seemed funny to me anymore. I stared ahead, watching as Professor Hagrid led the first years in the direction of the lake. I couldn't help but think of how horrible it was that some people never got to see the beauty within the castle.

"Are you coming?" Stefanie said loudly. She frowned at my quietness for a moment before her face fell into an 'oh!'. Stefanie knew that this time of year was usually harder for me to get through because of what happened six years ago when my-

"Elizabeth?" I spun around. I hadn't noticed that the twins, lee, Katie and Angelina were all waiting for me in the carriage.

"Yeah, sorry, I zoned out for a moment there," I said with a forced smile.

As we rode up to the school, Fred turned away from the loud conversation to lean towards me and ask if everything was alright.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, you got awful quiet," he said slowly.

"I'm alright, I just miss my mother. She couldn't make it to the station, so I didn't really get a proper goodbye," I lied smoothly.

"Oh, I'm sure it'll pass," He said, offering a smile.

It will for now, but every year, I'll be reminded of it. They say it gets easier as the years pass, but for me, it only seems to get harder.

-0o0o0o0o0-

_**A/N!**____Thanks loads for all the favorites and alerts! But I'm a little disappointed that I have so few reviews compared to those who took the time to put it in their alerts and favs, but nonetheless, I'm glad you liked it! So here's what I'm doing. I think the title explains this chapter pretty well. I've decided to turn this into an actual fic, and so what I'm doing is I'm starting this story from the beginning. I'm leaving the first part that I posted of the Christmas part, but from now on, all chapters will be from the beginning and on. I hope you all like it! And to be honest, I'm simply winging it. I have no idea where this is going ^^_

_Thanks again! Don't forget to leave a review! _

_Merry Christmas to all! And I wish you all a wonderful New Year! _

_~Mishy (:_


	3. Chapter 3 First Day of Classes

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to the lovely J.K Rowling (:**

Chapter 2

The feast had gone smoothly, but it was the after-speech that had gone disastrously. The new defense against the dark arts professor had interrupted Professor Dumbledore causing him to step down from the podium. And the load of waffle that came from that woman's mouth was ridiculous. About half way through, Stefanie distracted me by telling me that Draco Malfoy had been watching me on and off, but I caught him turning away when I spotted him.

~0o0o0o0o0~

Fred and George had taken it upon themselves to throw parties throughout the years, and so they and Lee had disappeared for half an hour and returned with arm loads of food, butterbeer and even a few bottles of liquor for the older students. Hermione, as always, disapproved, but surprisingly enough, she did not intervene. And so the party went on until all hours of the morning until everyone had retreated to bed or had fallen asleep somewhere in the common room.

~0o0o0o0o0~

Katie, being the wonderful roommate she was, woke us up with 45 minutes until breakfast was over, giving us enough time to shower, dress, and make our way to the great hall with 15 minutes of breakfast left. I sat next to a very tired looking Harry and pulled some eggs and bacon onto my plate.

"Enjoy yourself last night, did you?" he teased, pouring himself a cup of tea.

I was painfully reminded of last night's events. Around midnight, only around 25 students remained, all 5th year and up, and Stefanie and I burst into the cheesy Celestina Warbeck song 'Cauldron full of hot strong love'. Collin Creevey, a scrawny 4th year, had left bed to come downstairs and snap several shots of Stef and me dancing on the coffee table. We only stopped when a moody looking 3rd year shouted from above to shut up.

This morning, the pictures circulated the common room and Stefanie had taken one from George and stuck it on the wall in our room.

"Don't remind me," I yawned, pulling forward a mug and pouring myself a cup of coffee. I pulled out a small vial from my robes and tipped it into the mug, adding a spoonful of sugar and some cream before stirring.

"Hangover potion," I said, answering Harry's questioning look. With one last grin, we both turned to our breakfast.

"I heard that you and a certain Irish Mr. Finnegan got into a little row last night,"

"Yeah, he's being stupid," Harry said hotly.

"What happened?"

"I dunno. One moment, I'm asking him about his holidays and the next moment he's telling me his mother thinks I'm a liar," He scoffed.

"Ignore him. He'll come around," I said sympathetically.

"He can do whatever the hell he pleases," Harry said, angrily stabbing at the sausage on his plate.

Moments later, Stefanie came in looking refreshed, with her hair in loose curls and even some make up on.

"Go get ugly," I muttered as she slid in next to me.

"You look lovely too," she replied, pulling the entire plate of bacon towards her.

As she filled her plate the heads of each house made their way slowly down the tables, handing out this year's timetables. Fred, who had been sitting closest to the staff table along with other 7th years, messed up my hair on the way by. With a scowl, I flattened the lump that was my hair and poured myself a second cup of coffee.

"Why don't you drink tea," Harry questioned

Before I could answer, Stefanie leaned over me to look at Harry.

"Oh, she's _afraid_ of tea," She said with a vicious grin.

"What? How can you be afraid of tea?" He said, glancing at me with an amused look on his face.

"When I was younger-"

"Oh, this is going to be good," Stefanie said with a smirk, "Everyone gather around,"

I punched her lightly in the arm and gritted my teeth. Stefanie adored teasing me for my fear of tea.

"When I was younger," I repeated louder to Harry, ignoring the fact that several people had indeed leaned in closer, "My mother's friend had a tea party, and I was forced to attend. And so this woman served the tea, right? But as the handed it to me, she sneezed into it. And my mother made me sit there and drink into it, but there were little boogies floating around in the cup. I drank it." I finished with a shudder.

There were several groans of disgust around me and Harry glanced once at his unfinished tea and pushed it away.

"I see," He said slowly.

Stefanie, of course, howled with laugher.

The owl post came in and owls shook their feathers out onto the tables, wetting everyone with the rain water that they trailed in from the not so nice weather outside.

Hermione and Ron joined us several minutes later and Hermione and I discussed the Daily Prophet while Stefanie, Ron and Harry argued over which international Quidditch team had the better seeker.

Professor McGonagall was now moving along the table handing out timetables.

"Look at today!" Ron groaned. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defence Against the Dark Arts… Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George would hurry up and get those skiving snackboxes sorted…"

"Do mine ears deceive me?" Fred said, arriving with George, bags slung over their shoulders, and squeezed onto the bench between Harry and I.

"Hogwarts prefects surely don't wish to skive off lessons?" George said, reaching for a buttered toast.

"Look what we've got today," said Ron grumpily, shoving his schedule under Fred's nose. "That's the worst Monday I've ever seen,"

"Fair point, little bro," said Fred, scanning the column. "You can have a bit of nosebleed nougat cheap if you like,"

"Why's it cheap?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"We haven't got an antidote yet," George said.

"Cheers, but I think I'll take the lesson," Ron said moodily, tucking his folded schedule into his robes.

After comparing our schedules that Professor McGonagall handed to us, Arithmancy appeared to be the only class Stefanie and I didn't share.

"Shall we skip it?" She asked casually, pouring tea into my cup. I grimaced and pushed my cup away.

"Stef, it's the first day back. I'd save it for Friday, maybe, but you have Care of Magical creatures. You'll probably look at frogs or something,"

Stefanie and I tended to skip often. Too often. My parents were constantly reviving letters of my wrong-doing at school. But they've long given up punishing me for it. What could they really do about it while I was at Hogwarts? And it's not like Stefanie and I ever caused any trouble. Ok, well maybe once or twice we were caught doing something silly, but nothing to ever harm anyone. And Stefanie and I were excellent students. We had both received Outstanding's in Transfiguration, Potions, History of Magic (which came as a surprise), Charms, Defense against the Dark arts and Arithmancy for me. Everything else had been Exceeds Expectations. So no one really had any reason to complain.

"But I don't want to learn about frogs," She pouted, following me out of the great hall.

"You'll survive," I said as we made our way up the magical staircases.

~0o0o0~

When I entered the Arithmancy classroom, I noticed that there were only 7 people in 6th year who continued with Arithmancy. Among them was Cormac McLaggen, a fellow Gryffindor, myself, Chloe Sutherland from Hufflepuff, Eddie Carmichael and Tommie Pritchard from Ravenclaw, and the Carrow twins, Hestia and Flora from Slytherin.

"Thank you for joining us, Miss Blake. Will Miss Stefanie Edwards be joining us?" Professor Vector questioned over her glasses.

"I'm afraid not," I said, sliding into an empty seat.

"Very well, open your textbook to page 7 and complete the questions. You may work with Mr. McLaggen and Miss Sutherland. I expect the work to be handed in at the end of the period,"

I joined Chloe and Cormac at their table, pulling up a chair.

"Hey Cormac… Chloe. So what exactly are we supposed to be-"

I broke off when I noticed Chloe glaring at me with venomous eyes.

Weren't Hufflepuffs supposed to be the nice ones? I tried to ignore this, but the further we got into the period, the more obvious she was being. We worked together, completing the assigned pages, but throughout the entire period, Chloe refused to look at me or talk to me. What was her problem! I don't believe I've ever even spoken to her!

When the bell rang, I gathered my books hastily, eager to leave the class. As I looked up, I happen to catch an odd exchange between Chloe and Cormac. She placed a hand on his chest and looked into his eyes, making Cormac look deeply uncomfortable.

"Bye," She said softly, and then she turned and left the classroom.

I raised an eyebrow and stared at Cormac. When he noticed me looking at him, he simply shrugged.

"She's been owling me all summer, asking to hang out. She even asked me out on a date. I've let her down nicely, but I don't know what to do anymore- Don't Laugh! It's not funny," He said miserably, gathering his books and following me out of the class.

"That's so awkward!" I said with a laugh. I quickly glanced behind me in case she turned up.

"I don't know what to do!" He exclaimed as we wove through the student filled corridor.

"Well… I'm sure she's lovely," I snickered.

"She was glaring daggers at you all class. She gets really jealous when I talk to other girls. It's quite frightening," He admitted.

"Well, you're a man. You'll think of something," I said as we entered the common room.

With a wave goodbye, I joined Stefanie who was looking over our new Potion textbook.

"Stef," I said, plopping next to her on the couch.

"Hmm?"

"You know Chloe Sutherland?" I said, kicking my feet up on the coffee table.

"No,"

"The one in Hufflepuff, with the pigtails and glasses so thick you'd think she could see the future,"

"Ah, Speckles," she said with a smug grin, "Go on,"

"Well apparently she's obsessed with McLaggen, though I certainly don't blame her. McLaggen is bloody gorgeous-"

"My poor ears," Someone wailed.

I whipped around to find Fred and George sitting at the table behind the couch.

"Oh, shush you," I said, waving a hand.

"Oh, don't let me bother you," Fred said, leaning forward and placing his hands in his palms, "Please do continue. I'd love to hear all about Cormac and his large biceps and pretty-boy face-"

"Jealous Weasley?" I retorted, the corners of my mouth turned up.

He snorted and leaned back in his chair with his hands linked behind his head.

"Certainly not, my fine young lady. Not only do I have a handsome face and large biceps, but I happen to have something McLaggen doesn't have, and that, my dear Elizabeth, is intelligence," He winked.

"And," George said with a grin, "With us, you get 2 for 1,"

"What a cheeky fellow! But that doesn't sound that bad, actually," Stefanie said thoughtfully.

"Shame on you!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, don't deny it Elizabeth. You're obviously attracted to us," Fred said smugly.

"You wish," I snorted.

The bell rang again, signaling that we all had 2 minutes to reach our next class. I pulled out my timetable and with a quick scan, I jumped up off the couch and snatched up my bag.

"Stefanie, we have Potions," I groaned.

"Bloody hell. Looks like we have a detention tonight," She muttered, following me out the door.

"See you later, ladies," George called with a wink.

~0o0o0o0~

Professor Snape was not pleased that we had turned up 3 minutes late and he assigned us a detention that evening.

"7 o'clock sharp. Don't be late," He said with a glare.

"Today we will be working on the Draught of Living Death, as I have done with my other students in the previous years. The ingredients and method," –Snape flicked his wand- "are on the blackboard, and you will find everything you need" –he flicked his wand again- "in the cupboard" –the door of the cupboard sprang open- "you have an hour and a half… Start"

To begin with such a difficult potion was not pleasing at all. The ingredients had to be added in to the cauldron in precisely the right order and quantity.

"No!" I said, knocking Stefanie's hand away from her cauldron so that her salamander tail flopped onto the table. "You forgot the powdered moonstone," I said, pointing a finger to the blackboard at the front of the class.

"Oh, thank god," she sighed, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

The class had instantly become filled with steam and I had to tie my hair up to keep it from going out of control.

By the end of the period, very few students managed to complete the potion. I was not one of them.

"For those who have managed to follow instructions correctly, fill a flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name and place it on my desk,"

The class cleaned up quickly, eager to leave the classroom, but I stayed behind to complete my potion.

"I'll wait for you in the common room," Stefanie said, being the last to leave the classroom.

Snape sauntered over as I stirred my almost compete potion.

"Miss Blake, you should have completed your potion by now," He drawled, peering into my bubbling cauldron.

"I'm sorry Professor, but I'm almost done. I need only a few minutes. May I finish?"

I absolutely hated sucking up to the potion teacher, but potions were one of the subjects that I was really good at, and so I tried my hardest.

He pursed his lips and glanced at the remaining ingredient that I had.

"Very well, you have 10 minutes,"

I sighed in relief and turned to the blackboard for the last few instructions.

_Stir clockwise 5 times and add in the remaining Valerian Roots…_

~0o0o0o0~

I exited the classroom 15 minutes later, after handing in my sample and cleaning up the mess I made. My stomach grumbled loudly as the smell of the Great Hall became stronger the closer I got.

After lunch, Stefanie and I made our way across the Transfiguration courtyard, bags over our heads, hiding from the pouring rain, and into the full classroom.

"Good afternoon," Professor McGonagall said. With a swipe of her wand, the rolls of parchment littering her desk vanished.

"We will begin this course with Vanishing spells, and of course, non-verbal spells. As complex as they are, with the right amount of practice and concentration, you should all be able to accomplish this. We shall not waste any time. Divide into pairs" –Stefanie and I glanced at each other- "And open your books up to page 75. Read over page 75 and 76, and then begin with vanishing these items using the non-verbal spell stated in the book- Miss Turpin, hand that box out please. I will be circulating if you have any questions or concerns. Begin"

Not many students succeeded with the non-verbal part. Most students whispered the spell under their breath, and so when I watched Stefanie scrunch up her face in concentration and poke her wand at our pin cushion, I let out a yelp of surprise when it vanished.

"Well done, Miss Edwards, take 15 points," said Professor McGonagall with an approving gaze.

~0o0o0~

Dinner in the Great Hall was chaotic. The news about Harry's shouting match with Professor Umbridge had spread exceptionally fast even by Hogwarts' standards. I heard all the whispers that traveled around the Gryffindor table. I glanced at Harry who sat across from me looking irritable between Ron and Hermione.

"He says he saw Cedric Diggory murdered…"

"He reckons he dueled with You-know-Who…"

"Oh, come off it…"

"Who does he think he's kidding?"

"pur-_lease_…"

I glared at a pair of 4th year Ravenclaw girls at the table behind Harry and they looked away, embarrassed of being caught talking gossip.

"What I don't get," said Harry through clenched teeth," is why they all believed the story 2 months ago with Dumbledore told them…"

I glanced sideways meeting Stefanie's blue eyes.

"The thing is, Harry, I'm not sure they did," Hermione said grimly. "Oh, let's get out of here."

She slammed down her knife and fork; Ron looked sadly at his half-finished apple pie but followed suit.

"Poor bloke," I commented, watching as heads turned to watch the trio leave the Great Hall.

"That Umbridge woman sounds ridiculously unappealing to have as a teacher," Stefanie said, pulling a treacle tart onto her plate.

"I don't fancy having her tomorrow," I agreed.

Later that evening, as I sat a couple feet away from Stefanie on the carpet working on the short essay that Professor McGonagall assigned for Wednesday, gossip traveled through the common room again, but I ignored it.

"Look," Stefanie said with a nudge.

Over in the corner, Fred and George had gathered a small group of first years and they walked around, handing little colored sweets. We watched as each of them inserted the sweet into their mouth, chewed a few times, and slumped down in their chair or even fall to the floor unconscious. I laughed loudly and abandoned my essay. I approached the group and watched as Fred took notes on a clip board. Suddenly, Hermione appeared, looking murderously at the twins.

"That's enough!" She said forcefully to Fred and George who paused, looking mildly surprised.

"Yeah, you're right," George said, regaining his composure, "this dosage looks strong enough, doesn't it?"

"I told you this morning you can't test your rubbish on students!

"We're paying them!" Fred said indignantly.

"I don't care, it could be dangerous!

"Rubbish," Fred said.

"Calm down, Hermione, they're fine," Lee said, inserting purple sweets into their open mouths.

But apparently Hermione didn't like to be told to calm down. She quivered with anger and threatened to send an owl to their mother.

"You wouldn't," said George, horrified, taking a step back from her.

"Oh, yes, I would," She said threateningly. "I can't stop you two from eating the stupid things yourselves, but you're not giving them to the first years anymore."

Fred and George looked thunderstruck. It was clear that as far as they were concerned, Hermione's treat was way below the belt. With a last threatening look at them, she thrust Fred's clipboard and the back of sweets back into back into his arms and stalked back to her chair. Without speaking much, the twins quietly gathered their belongings, slipping a few coins to the remaining students and retreated as far from Hermione as possible.

"I'd hate to get on her bad side," I said to Stefanie, rolling up my unfinished essay and placing it in my bag. "But we have to go if we don't want to be late for detention."

I put my bag in my room, quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a black knitted sweater and met back with Stefanie in the common room. She was at a table, head bent close with Fred and George.

"Mind if I eavesdrop?" I asked, plopping next to Fred who flashed me a tired looking smile.

"Not at all," He said dully.

"So what did I miss?"

"I was just saying how I think Hermione was a little harsh about that. I mean, I know where she's coming from and that they could be dangerous, but the products are tested by the twins beforehand. I don't think you guys would test something harmful on first years, would you?" the twins shook their heads, "I just think that she was blowing it up in proportion." Stefanie said.

"I suppose so, but we all know how Hermione is. She means well," I said, glancing back at Hermione's now empty chair.

"I know," Fred said, "but now we have to find other people to test them on. Testing them on two people isn't enough, especially when as twins, we have the same reactions, so it only truly counts as one,"

"I offer Elizabeth up for your testing," Stefanie said with a grin.

"Fair enough, I can think of a few tests I'd like to try," George said, peering at me.

I smacked his arm and rolled my eyes.

"I don't think so," I chuckled. "But Stef, we really have to go."

"Where exactly are you off to?" Fred questioned.

"Detention with Snape," Stefanie said dully, standing up and pushing the chair in.

"Ahh, well, try not to have too much fun," Fred teased.

We arrived in the dungeons with barely seconds to spare. Snape stood in the doorway, glaring at us for a moment before he moved out of the way and let us in the classroom. Another Gryffindor in 4th year waited grimly by the back.

"You will be cleaning out the storage room this evening," he said, glancing between Stefanie, I and Adam. "You will clear all the shelves, clean them, wipe off the objects and place them back on the shelves. Be sure to keep each ingredient in alphabetical order. You may leave when you are done. Wand on my desk, and there are pails and rags in the storage room." With that, he turned his back to us to stir a boiling caldron on his desk.

I glanced at Stefanie and followed Adam into the large storage room. I filled a bucket up with warm water and dropped a mouldy bar of soap in the water. As I reached on a shelf to move a jar of eyeballs away, they all spun and stared at me, causing me to yelp loudly and jump away. Stefanie shuddered in disgust and hesitantly picked up a jar of rat tails.

The three of us returned to the Gryffindor common room at 10:30 in silence. I waved goodnight to Fred and George, two of the few left in the common room, and went upstairs to take a steaming hot shower. I was in bed by 11 and snoring moments later.

~~

_**A/N: **__Thanks to 4laue and lokyisa for the awesome reviews (: And yay too me for sitting through 3,700 words -.- Not much going on in this chapter for there to be nearly 4000 words. ANYWAYS, review! Tell me what you think (: R&R! I dare you ;)_

_~Mishy_


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 3

The following morning was just as rainy and as dark as the previous day. I took a little more time to prepare myself this morning after a long, steaming hot shower. Stefanie, Katie and I made our way down to the Great Hall and I pulled a hot cup of coffee close to me.

"Why must it be so bloody cold," Stefanie complained over a plate of bacon.

"Well, be happy it's not ridiculously hot. We have Binns next. Maybe this year, I'll be able to stay awake in his class for more than 20 minutes," Katie snorted.

At that moment, Angelina walked up to the three of us.

"Katie, Elizabeth. I've been made Quidditch Captain, and tryouts are on Friday. I want you all there. Woods gone so we need a new Keeper,"

"We'll be there," Katie replied, and Angelina smiled and walked away to rejoin the twins, Lee and a few others.

"Stefanie, you should try out again this year," I said, turning to her.

"You think so?" said Stefanie.

"Yeah, even Angelina said you were really good." Katie piped in.

"But there's already the pair of you and Angelina, and there are no other Chaser positions open. I'm certainly not trying out for Keeper. Brutal position."

"Well, I'd say go for Chaser. I mean, maybe you'll be a back-up again like last year. It's worth the try," I said.

"Alright" she agreed.

Half an hour later, the three of us were making our way up to the 4th floor and into the chilled History of Magic classroom.

"Come on, maybe we can snatch some seats in the back," Stefanie said, steering Katie and I towards the back of the class where it was darker. Moments later, the bell rang and students slowly poured into the class, filing it up. When the second bell signaled the beginning of the lessons, Professor Binns drifted through the blackboard and immediately instructed us to take out something to take notes on. I spent the first half an hour taking notes in my new notebook purchased from Flourish and Blotts. I was concentrated more on perfecting my neat writing than actually taking in the information Binns was spitting out when a folded note slid onto the corner of my desk from Stefanie.

_Im bored_, it read.

_**I'm impressed you've waited so long to send me a note. Look what I've accomplished,**_ I wrote back and tossed it on her desk.

She scanned my writing and looked up. I tilted my notebook to show the full page of notes. She nodded, impressed.

_Brilliant. I'll be needing those later. So, what do you think of the twins? Is it me or are they hanging around a little more since the start of term?_

_**I've noticed too, but I certainly don't mind!,**_

_Neither do I. They've become much more handsome since last year,_

_**I don't think you're the only one who's noticed it. Those giggly 5**__**th**__** year Ravenclaws were gossiping about them in the loo yesterday. They're quite annoying if you ask me. **_

_Who isn't annoying to you? Anyways, you know who was looking at you this morning again? A certain young fellow by the name of Draco Malfoy. He's looking much more mature these days. And it seems as though he's turned his eyes on you. I always thought he went for the other team. I mean, other than Parkinson, he's showed absolutely no interest in girls. _

I gritted my teeth at that third sentence.  
><em><strong>Oh, shush your mouth. He did no such thing.<strong>_

Stefanie's head whipped around at and she send me a suggestive look, to which I replied with a lovely drawing of her and Snape under the mistletoe.

"Are you serious?" She mouthed in disgust.

_That was harsh!_

I began to reply, but I felt a sudden chill go down my spine that had nothing to do with the chill in the room. The entire class had gone silent and had turned to stare at me. Binns, not looking impressed, floated over to me. I slipped the parchment under my open notebook and glanced up at him innocently.

"Yes, professor?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking notes, see?" I said, spinning my notebook around.

He peered down at my notebook, scanned it quickly, and turned away without saying a word. I slumped down in my chair in relief. Binns never stopped a lesson to check on students. I peered over at Stefanie who shrugged.

We didn't pass any notes for the rest of the class, and took up our conversation in the hall after the bell rang.

"Shame on you, Elizabeth. That was horrifying. I swear I'm going to have nightmares."

"Good. Though you have to admit that my drawing skills are phenomenal,"

"Never!" she crackled.

In the common room, we swapped our History of Magic books with a single Herbology book and wasted no time to travel across the grounds towards the greenhouse. We studied venomous plants and were given a short essay on Mandrake roots and its basic uses in medicine and potion making. By the time we made it into the Great Hall for lunch, the tables were full of chattering students. There was space near the twins, which was odd, as normally they were surrounded, so Stefanie and I took the empty seats, me next to George and Stefanie joined Fred across the table.

"Ladies," George greeted, pouring some pumpkin juice into my goblet.

"Thanks,"

"We've just had that Umbridge woman," Fred scoffed, stabbing at his carrots.

"And?" Stefanie said, piling food onto her plate.

"Fred is in a foul mood," George whispered to me.

"And? I'll tell you what. She took away 20 points because I questioned why we were putting our wands away. Then she lectured the class on how we knew nothing and 'therefore, you mustn't question a Ministry Official',"

"Told you," George whispered,

"Well we have her next, don't we?" Stefanie said, turning to me.

"Don't remind me. We're the only class who haven't had her yet. Plus, we share that class with the Slytherins. It's a shame, really."

"I honestly don't think that Hogwarts has ever had a teacher this awful. And the worst part is that she favors the Slytherins," George said.

"That's not good." I replied, pulling food onto my plate.

"Any tips?" Stefanie said as she poured herself a drink.

"Sure," Fred began sourly, "Don't talk, don't move, don't even breathe, and whatever you do, don't make eye contact with her. You might turn to stone,"

I laughed loudly, which seemed to lift Fred's mood just a bit.

As we ate, I went over what Stefanie mentioned earlier in History of Magic, about the boys being friendlier to the pair of us this year. There was no denying that they had taken an interest in us. And it didn't help that I had an itsy bitsy crush on Fred. I mean, it was so little that it was barely there, but I was simply always aware of him. It might have begun when he asked me to the Yule ball last year. I knew it had been a joke because so did George, only moments after I let down Fred, but it was still cute. I knew it was odd that I found Fred more attractive than George, despite the fact that they were identical twins down to the last freckle, but I just couldn't explain it. Fred was... well he was Fred! Sure, I've had major crushes and even a boyfriend since then, but I had a feeling I'd always have an itty bitty unexplainable crush on Fred. But then again, who didn't!

"Fred, smile," I said suddenly. It looked wrong to see Fred looking so livid.

He looked away from the staff table where he had been openly glaring at Umbridge and he turned to me. His features softened and he attempted a smile that turned out to be more of a grimace than anything.

"Don't worry, Freddy, we'll work on it together," I joked and reached over to pat his arm.

He glanced down at my hand on his and his face instantly relaxed and the corners of his mouth lifted. Suddenly feeling self-conscious about the fact that both Stefanie and George had seen this and were staring quizzically at each other, I wrenched my hand away and placed it in my lap. Thank goodness Fred hadn't taken offence to this, for he chuckled and dug into his plate.

0o0o0o0o0

"What was _that_?" Stefanie asked as we walked towards the DADA class.

"I don't know," I shrugged, hopping out of the way of a ghost.

"Well, did you see it? I mean, there was some mean eye contact going on there. You blushed and everything,"

"Of course I saw it," I replied calmly.

But at the moment, I was nothing but calm. I wanted to die of embarrassment. I rarely blushed. I normally acted coolly about everything, and I went and ruined it all because I touched Fred's hand. Oh god, I bet he thinks I like him now. I shared this piece of information with Stefanie.

"You do," She pointed out.

"Yeah, but not enough to blush at something as silly as that! It's just a minuscule crush. This isn't fair!"

Stefanie raised an eyebrow.

"Would you like some cheese with that whine?" She joked lightly.

"Very funny," I said dully.

We turned into the DADA classroom and took our usual seats; Stefanie and I together at the back of the room, sharing a desk for two.

"What do I do? I don't want him to think I like him like that. I mean, I guess it's somewhat true, but I don't like him like that. You know what I'm saying?"

"Not at all," Stefanie replied, dropping her back on the floor as the class slowly filled up.

"Ok, well I suppose I have a crush on him, but I don't like him enough to date him. I just don't see it happening. So what do I do? Ignore that I totally just acted like some love struck little 13 year old girl?"

"I suppose," Stef answered after a moment, "Maybe if you act like it was nothing, so will he,"

"I guess that could work," I agreed.

The second bell rang and as the last note chimed, the classroom door closed rather loudly on its own. The sound of heals echoed in the room and we all turned to face the front.

"Quiet down," Professor Umbridge instructed. But there was no need, for the class had gone eerily quiet.

"Good afternoon," She said, standing in front of the class, hands clasped together. Few mumbled 'hello'.

"I expect you all to reply 'Good afternoon Professor Umbridge'," She tutted. "Good afternoon!"

The class chorused a dull 'Good afternoon Professor Umbridge'.

"What is this?" Stefanie scoffed quietly, but hushed up when Professor Umbridge's eyes settled on her.

"Unfortunately, I have decided that you will all have assigned seats,"

I let out a groan.

"I believe that it will allow you to all concentrate on your work better..."

"I bet she's going to mix the houses," Stefanie whispered sourly. And sure enough she did just that.

I got paired with Cameron Warrington, which to be honest, isn't that bad. Warrington was one of the few Slytherins who were actually good looking. And he wasn't as foul as the rest of them. As we sat at our assigned desk in the opposite back corner, he gave me a curt nod and took his seat next to me on my right. Stefanie wasn't as lucky. She got stuck with one of last year's repeat students who smelled absolutely foul and had a bad case of acne. To make matters worse, Professor Umbridge was, just as all other classes, refusing to teach the practical part of this course claiming we wouldn't need it.

"Professor," I called, thrusting my hand in the air. She turned to me slowly, and for a moment, I thought she was going to yell at me, but instead, she took a deep breath and smiled sweetly.

"Yes, miss…"

"Blake, ma'am," I answered, allowing my hand to come down. She waited for me to continue.

"How will you be evaluating the practical part of this course for our end of year mark?"

I tried to sound as innocent as possible, and to be honest, I really was curious. From the little that I knew, our marks were based on 3 different categories; theory, our ability to use magic (taking in consideration of the course subject) and participation. Hermione told me that theory and practical were both worth roughly 40% of our overall mark and that participation was 20%, and based on this, the teacher was to give us a mark based on our achievements in all 3 categories. This was more or less the same for each course we took.

"Like last year, you will have a practical examination at the end of the year that will allow you to show me what you have learned, and I will mark you based on this,"

"Will you be teaching us the spells later on in the year?"

"Of course, you will all be expected to study each spell from within the book I will be handing out in a few weeks' time. During your examination, you will be expected to be prepared for anything and everything in the book,"

"Thank you, Professor," I said and I scowled to myself mentally. Here I was, sucking up to the teacher. I suddenly remembered something Harry mentioned and I raised my hand again.

"Professor, how much time will we be given during classes to practice these spells?" I asked.

"Practice the spells? There should be no need for that. I said this to another class, and I will say it again. As long as you have studied the theory of each spell carefully, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform them during your examinations,"

This ruffled up the class. Several Gryffindors, and even a few Slytherin raised their hand, but Stefanie thrust her arm into the air, faster than the rest of the class.

"What is your name?" Professor Umbridge asked,

"Stefanie Edwards," said Stefanie.

"Very well, miss Edwards, you have something to say?"

"Yes I do! You mean to say that the first time we will perform these spells will be during our exams?" She said incredulously.

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, you should be able to perform these spells without much difficulty." She replied sweetly.

"But surely when you were a student at Hogwarts, you were given time to practice and perfect your spells, no?" Stefanie retorted angrily, "Part of this course isn't simply to just know all the magic, but to be familiar with it in most ways possible. This isn't right. No professor has ever refused to teach practical magic in their class, and so why should you?"

"This is a carefully structured, theory-based centered, Ministry approved course, Miss Edwards,"

"Because the Ministry knows better," Stefanie scoffed loudly.

It seemed to have hit a nerve in the teacher, for she cocked her head slightly to the side and smiled again, showing pointed teeth.

"Detention, miss Edwards,"

"She hasn't done anything!" I protested, causing Umbridge to round on me.

"You shall hold your tongue in this class, miss Blake, or you too will have a detention," Then she turned to Stefanie who sat in her seat, gaping at the teacher with an expression that read 'are you mental?'.

"You are behaving in a rude and disrespectful manner towards someone of authority. Detention. My office. 6 o'clock," She repeated. Then, ignoring the rest of the raised hands she turned to the board and rapped it 3 times with her pudgy hand.

"Take out a parchment and begin copying. There is to be no talking," She said coldly.

I heard a soft snort next to me and I glanced at Warrington.

"Mental, that one," He whispered, nodding to Professor Umbridge who sat at her desk, staring beadily at the students.

"I'd hate to say this Slytherin, but I agree with you,"

_**A/N; **_**Here's yet another chapter! Please leave a review! It'd make my day (: Anything you recognize belongs to JK. **

**~GiveMeLovee**


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